Storm Bert delivers! It was very cool and a little surreal to see this 1st-winter Kittiwake battling into the gale-force wind over farmland near Petworth a few weeks back.
I was a bit too young to remember the avian aftermath of the 1987 Storm - when shedloads of Sabine's Gulls, Grey Phalaropes and the like were found at inland lakes and reservoirs across the south of England - but have always had a fascination and enthusiasm for inland seabirds, blown off course by autumn storms.
I've been lucky to find or see all sorts of examples of this over the years, including two Gannets over Knepp a couple of autumns back and another over Woking town centre many years ago. It's been a good decade or so since I saw a Kittiwake away from the coast though, so I was amazed/delighted when this one appeared overhead at one of my regular local haunts - just as I was walking back to my car too! Interestingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, it coincided with quite a pronounced movement of the species at sites such as Selsey Bill and Splash Point.
My 171st bird species in my local area (10km radius from home) in 2024 and certainly one of the more memorable ones. This site really has delivered the goods this year, including Little Tern and Sanderling. What next, I wonder?
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